


Video Games

by IveGotRedHair



Category: All Time Low
Genre: Coughing, Established Relationship, Fever, M/M, Sickfic, Sneezing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-22
Updated: 2015-04-22
Packaged: 2018-03-25 07:22:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3801730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IveGotRedHair/pseuds/IveGotRedHair
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack has unique idea about how to cheer up his sick boyfriend on the other side of the country.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Video Games

Jack was sat on his bed in the spare room, his cousins XBox set up in front of him as he chased down bad guys. He was stuck at his Aunt’s all the way over in California for his cousins wedding. He didn’t exactly enjoy weddings, it meant parading around in a stupid suit why members of his family commented on how much he’d grown. But most of all Jack missed Alex, his adorable and amazing boyfriend back in Baltimore. Jack had tried to convince his mum to let Alex come but she said something about a family event. So Jack was stuck alone at his Aunt’s house, luckily though one of Jack’s older cousins had passed on his XBox so at least he was somewhat entertained.  
The worst part was though he hadn’t heard from Alex all morning, he’d been constantly staring at his phone but no message had arrived. He sighed and picked up his phone again, opening it to see the picture of him and Alex smiling goofily at the camera. He put his phone on his stomach and went back to the game, only to have to vibrate a moment later, a message from Alex on the screen.  
Alex - I’m sick   
Jack pouted at the message, his boyfriend was ill and all the way at the other side of the country.  
Jack - Aw baby, what’s wrong?  
Alex - Everything hurts, I’ve been coughing and sneezing and I think I have a fever. I feel horrible Jacky   
Jack - Poor you! Can I do anything?  
Alex - Come cuddle?  
Jack sighed, he wanted nothing more than to go and cuddle with Alex but he was so far away. He wished there was something he could do to comfort Alex, what did he normally do when he was sick? Truth was Jack had never seen Alex sick, it happened to rarely that Jack hadn’t had a chance. When he get sick himself he mostly spend the day watching movies or playing videos games, it wasn’t like they could watch a movie together from 1000s of miles apart, but maybe they could play video games...  
Jack – I wish I could baby. Want to play some COD? We could do it with headsets so we could talk and it’ll help get your mind of the sickness  
Alex – Okay but I’ll kick your ass ;)  
Jack laughed, Alex always kicked his ass at COD but it would be worth it if it made him feel better.  
Jack set up the game and sent Alex the information to find him, soon he was getting a call telling him Gaykarth (Alex did like to make jokes of his own sexuality) was ready to go.  
“Hey ‘Lex” Jack said, as Alex’s character walked on his screen.  
“Hey” Alex’s voice was croaky and horse like he’d been screaming for hours.  
“Man you sound like shit” Jack commented.  
“Feel like it too...” he broke off into a coughing fit.  
“Aw baby” Jack pouted as he listened to Alex regain control over his breathing.  
“I’m okay” Alex replied.  
“Are you ready?”  
“I guess so, what’re we doing?” Alex asked.  
Alex sounded so vulnerable when he was ill, his normal cocky attitude gone as a virus ran through his body.  
“It’s a death match so just kill everything but try not to kill...” Jack was cut off when his screen went dark as Alex had shot him.  
“Hey!”  
Alex laughed which turned to him coughing.  
“Calm down ‘Lex”  
“I’m fine” he croaked.  
“I’m going to get you back for that” Jack joked.  
“I’d like to see you try”  
Jack laughed and went in search of Alex’s character, scanning the map for any sign of the boy. Sneaking around Jack searched for where Alex was hiding, before he found him there was the sound of a shot and his character dropped dead.  
“Alex!”  
There was the sound of giggling through his headphones and Jack smiled, his plan seemed to be working.  
“Got ya!” Jack yelled when he found Alex’s hiding place on a balcony.  
“Hey be nice to me I’m sick” Alex complained.  
“This is Call Of Duty, there is no nice”  
“If that’s the way you want to...” Alex’s breath hitched and Jack listened to him sneeze.  
“This sucks” Alex moaned, his voice sounding stuffed up.  
“Have you been feeling bad long?” Jack asked, trying to remember if Alex had mentioned anything about feeling ill the day before.  
“I was kind of groggy and tired yesterday but I didn’t think I’d get this sick...” he was cut off to sneeze again.  
Jack cringed as he heard the sound of Alex blowing his nose.  
“Ew”  
“You’re cute”  
“You can’t see me and I’m ill and disgusting” Alex said.  
“Nope I bet you’re still cute”  
“I disagree”  
There was the sound of shuffling through Jack’s headphones then the sound of a camera going off. His phone buzzed not ten seconds later. Jack phoned the message from his boyfriend and let the picture take up his screen. Alex did indeed look adorable or he did to Jack at least. His hair a tangled, knotty mess, pale face, eyes tired and red rimmed and his nose red enough to rival a red nose reindeer.  
“Its official you’re cute”  
“Stupid up and play the game”  
“If that’s what you want” Jack smirked, lining up Alex in his sights and pulling the trigger.  
A muffled “Fuck you” came through Jack’s headset and he laughed.  
“You asked for it!”  
“I’m going to get you for that”  
They played the same map over another half an hour but not once did Alex get Jack back. Between his coughing and sniffling the boy was really struggling with finding and murdering his boyfriend.  
“You suck at COD when you’re sick” Jack teased, after he’d killed Alex for the 18th time.  
“Can we do something different?” Alex requested.  
“How about a team game? I murder them why you... Distract them”  
“Sounds easy...” Alex coughed again.  
Jack wanted nothing more than to be by his boyfriend side, forcing medicine into him and being there to cuddle him. Not staring at screen with only Alex’s sickly voice in ears.  
“That sounded like it hurt”  
“It did” Alex sniffed.  
“Aw, I’m sorry you feel bad” Jack sympathised.  
“I feel better talking to you”  
The words made Jack smile, he didn’t know what difference he could make from so far away but he was glad to making some improvement.  
“Ready?” Jack asked as the new game loaded in.  
“What exactly are we doing?”  
“Team game, we basically go through the map and try to kill them before they kill us”  
“Right, I can do that”  
Jack heard shuffling, he knew Alex was sitting up with his legs crossed. It was the way he always sat when he played video games, with his eyes never leaving the screen expect when he was looking at Jack of course.  
“Game stance achieved” Jack said and Alex laughed, not enough to make him cough but enough for Jack to know he was smiling.  
The game loaded and they were back in the world of warzones, guns and bad guys.  
“Shit, shit, shit, shit” Jack swore as he ran through a hail of gunfire.  
“I’m coming” Alex said, running his character through the maze trying to find Jack.  
“Hurry! I’m dying!” Jack yelled.  
“Hold on baby”  
“Alex stop being so adorable and come save my ass!”  
“Ha...” Alex tried to surprise the enemies but ended up coughing, though he still managed to shoot a few of them.  
“Jack... Help”  
“What’ve you done?”  
“I came to save you and now I need saving”  
“Shit Alex!” Jack said before running off in the direction of Alex’s character on the map.  
“I’m dying here...” Alex said before breaking off sneezing harshly.  
“Yeah sounds like it”  
“Just come save me Barakat”  
Jack laughed, Alex only ever called him by his last name but he was teasing him.  
“I wouldn’t need to be saving you if you were better at this game” Jack replied.  
“Sick remember?” Alex said in his defence.  
“Excuses, excuses” Jack said, turning the corner and finding Alex surrounded by about fifteen enemies.  
“Fuck”  
“Help!” Alex tried to yell but his voice cracked.  
“AHhhhhhhh” Jack yelled as he began shooting, his finger hammering the A button in an attempt to save Alex.  
“Alex it would help if you shot them too, you know instead of hiding” Jack said, seeing Alex’s character peep out from behind a tree.  
“Oh yeah right”  
The sounds of gunfire game through Jack’s headphones and soon all the enemies were dead.  
“Two take fifteen, I think we did pretty well” Jack said, proud of himself.  
“Yeah, thanks for saving me Jacky”  
“Well what’s your boyfriend for?”  
“Think we could do something different? Like a scouting mission?” Alex asked.  
“Sure, maybe I wouldn’t have to save your butt so much”  
“Hey!” Alex protested with a cough.  
“Have you taken any medicine recently?” Jack asked, noticing how often Alex was coughing.  
“Err no” the boy replied.  
“Alex, you need to take it, you’ll feel better”  
“But it tastes like sweaty gym socks” Alex whined.  
“I’m sure it’s not that bad” Jack said, trying to hold in a laugh.  
“I’d be better if I could get a kiss after”  
Jack could imagine Alex sitting there, wrapped in his blanket, game controller in hand and a pout on his lips. Alex was always asking for kisses, always pouting at Jack when he didn’t give them.  
“I can’t but I did just save your ass so I think you owe it to me to take some medicine”  
Alex grumbled something in reply followed by him saying he’d be right back and the line went dead; just as Jack heard the sound of someone coming up the stairs outside his room and his name being called.  
“Jack, are you up here?” it was his mum.  
“In my room” he called back.  
“Jack, we’re going out to lunch. You need to be ready in about ten minutes” she informed him.  
“Mum I can’t”  
“Jack, this is your family you can play your silly video game whenever”  
“But it’s not that, I’m playing with Alex”  
“Alex will still be there later and when you get home, I’m sure he won’t miss for a few hours”  
“But mum he’s ill! He’s got the flu or something and he feels awful and I’m not there. My boyfriend is hurting and I can’t be there so playing games with him is the closest we’ve got to making each other feel better. So I can’t come to lunch with you”  
Mrs Barakat looked at him for a moment, her mouth opened to reply but nothing came out.  
“Please”  
“Well I... I guess you should stay then, I’ll tell explain to the others”  
“Thanks mum”  
She kissed him of top his head before leaving. Jack sighed, only just realising he could hear sniffling in his headphones again.  
“So I’m back...”  
“Oh god, did you hear that?” Jack asked.  
“Yeah”  
“I’m sorry...”  
“No Jack, I love you”  
“I love you too sicky”  
“If you hadn’t guessed I’m currently sticking my tongue at you” Alex said.  
“I’d guessed” Jack laughed.  
“Can we play the game now?”  
“Only if you’ve taken your medicine” Jack said.  
“Yes mum I’ve taken the disgusting medicine, are you happy?”  
“Incredibly, now let’s play”  
Luckily for Alex a scouting mission involved a lot less bad guys, mostly they were trying to get supplies so it meant a lot of sneaking around and stealing from the enemies.  
“So... How’s California?” Alex asked.  
“Hot”  
“That it?”  
“I mean it’s nice, all my cousins are here who I hardly see and we get to play football and shit. But it’s the not the same without you”  
“I miss you too”  
“How’s Baltimore without me?”  
“Oh much better, the suns out and everyone is singing in the streets” Alex joked.  
“I knew it”  
“Ha... Nah it’s the same, not that I really know. Stuck inside my room, with the blinds closed” Alex sniffed.  
“Ew I bet you smell”  
“Like snot and cough syrup” Alex replied.  
“Lovely”  
“But you love me anyway”  
“Are you sure?” Jack asked.  
“Very”  
Jack smiled, he really did love Alex. 

They played missions for awhile longer, Jack told Alex of some of the cool stories his cousins had told him and Alex complained about being sick. They may have been miles apart but they felt like they were side by side.  
“Alex, can you shoot that guy?”  
“Huh? Oh yeah right”  
“Are you okay?” Jack asked, noticing Alex’s actions were getting slower.  
“I’m just tired”  
“Why don’t you go to sleep?”  
“I don’t want to”  
“Alex you need sleep, you’re ill”  
“But I need you more”  
“Awh”  
“Don’t awh me! I’m not a cat” Alex complained, he hated when Jack said awh at him but Jack did it anyway, just to annoy him.  
“Meow” Jack replied.  
“Fuck y...” Alex was cut off again but not by his own coughing but as he yawned.  
“You sure about the whole not sleeping thing?”  
“Yeah I’m fine, dandy even”  
Jack smiled and continued the game but as time went on it was obvious Alex wasn’t so fine.  
“Alex! I’m dying here”  
“What? Oh sorry”  
“Did you fall asleep?” Jack asked, thinking he’d been very quiet for the last few minutes.  
“No... I was resting my eyes” he replied.  
Jack didn’t believe him for a second.  
“’Lex...”  
“No, let’s finish the mission” Alex said.  
“Okay”  
Somehow Alex managed to stay awake for the next fifteen minutes.  
“It’s over now, why don’t you go get some sleep?” Jack suggested.  
“I don’t want to leave you though”  
Jack smiled, oh god how he wanted to hug him and kiss him and just be there with him.  
“I’ll be here later, you’re not getting rid of me that easily”  
“Promise?”  
“Yes I promise, now go get some sleep sicky, You need it”  
“Jack?”  
“Yes ‘Lex?”  
“Thank you, for making me feel better”  
“I love you”  
“I love you too”  
Jack waited until the little bubble came up on the screen telling him Gaykarth had left the game before deciding it was safe to leave. He hadn’t even got half down the stairs when his phone buzzed in his pocket.  
Alex – I miss you  
Jack’s heart felt all warm and fuzzy, he truly had the best boyfriend in the world.

**Author's Note:**

> I really should get a life..


End file.
